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Maker vs taker fees futures costs depend on turnover and spread
The finding
Maker vs taker fees futures rates create an execution cost spread of up to 0.035 percentage points per trade across default exchange tiers.
On a 100,000 USD position, taker market orders cost between 20 USD and 55 USD per leg, while maker limit orders cost between 0 USD and 20 USD.
When position turnover exceeds five times per week, cumulative execution costs exceed standard 8-hour funding rate payments.
When trading perpetual contracts, maker vs taker fees futures rates determine the baseline cost of entering and exiting positions. A market order pays the taker fee to extract liquidity instantly, while a limit order pays the maker fee when matched against incoming flow.
Default maker vs taker fees futures schedules across exchanges
Default fee structures vary substantially across derivatives venues. The table below lists standard unverified maker and taker fee percentages for perpetual futures contracts on four major exchanges.
| Exchange | Futures Maker Fee | Futures Taker Fee | Round-Trip Maker Fee | Round-Trip Taker Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEXC | 0.0000% | 0.0200% | 0.0000% | 0.0400% |
| Bitget | 0.0200% | 0.0300% | 0.0400% | 0.0600% |
| OKX | 0.0200% | 0.0500% | 0.0400% | 0.1000% |
| Bybit | 0.0200% | 0.0550% | 0.0400% | 0.1100% |
Where this goes wrong
Entering and exiting a position with taker orders on Bybit costs 0.1100% of the total position value. This execution drag drains 110 USD per 100,000 USD of volume before market movement occurs.
The gap between maker and taker schedules on Bybit equals 0.0350 percentage points per leg. On MEXC, zero maker fees eliminate baseline entry costs entirely.
Round-trip position arithmetic and turnover impact
Execution costs compound directly with trade frequency. A trader opening and closing a 100,000 USD position completes 200,000 USD in total traded volume per full round trip.
On OKX, one round trip using market orders incurs a taker fee of 0.0500% per leg. Opening costs 50 USD and closing costs 50 USD, totaling 100 USD. If the same position enters and exits using limit orders, the 0.0200% maker fee costs 20 USD on entry and 20 USD on exit, totaling 40 USD.
Worth knowing
Over 20 round trips per month at 100,000 USD position size, total volume reaches 4,000,000 USD. Taker fees on OKX cost 2,000 USD, while maker fees cost 800 USD, creating a 1,200 USD difference in net account performance.
On Bybit, 20 round trips of 100,000 USD as a taker sum to 4,400 USD in execution drag. Paying taker rates on high-frequency turnover degrades capital faster than most drawdown thresholds allow.
Slippage versus maker fee savings
Using limit orders reduces exchange fees, but adds execution risk. A limit order stays unfilled if price moves away, leading to missed entries or unhedged risk.
If bid-ask spreads expand during high volatility, a limit order placed inside the spread earns the maker rate of 0.0200%. However, if the market moves away by 0.0400% before filling, canceling and taking market liquidity incurs the 0.0500% taker fee plus the 0.0400% price slippage.
What to do instead
Place limit orders inside the order book spread when market volatility is low to capture maker fee tiers, but convert to market orders when price movement speed threatens to exceed the fee differential.
The fee savings from maker orders must be weighed against bid-ask spread width. If the spread on an asset is 0.0100%, placing a limit order saves 0.0300% in fees on Bybit, leaving a net benefit of 0.0200% even if fill delay costs 0.0100% in price slippage.
Execution drag compared to live funding rates
Perpetual futures positions incur funding payments every 8 hours alongside execution fees. Live funding rates show that trading fees frequently exceed multiple days of holding costs.
On Bybit, the current BTC 8-hour funding rate is +0.0100%. Holding a 100,000 USD long position for 8 hours costs 10 USD in funding. The taker entry fee of 0.0550% costs 55 USD on the same position.
Entering a Bybit BTC long trade using a market order costs the equivalent of 5.5 consecutive 8-hour funding intervals, or 44 hours of holding time. On OKX, where BTC funding is +0.0042% per 8 hours, a single 0.0500% taker entry fee equals 11.9 funding intervals, which is nearly 4 days of holding costs.
Assets with wider funding spreads show similar proportions. SOXL funding on Bybit is +0.0135% per 8 hours, while Bitget charges +0.0145%. On Bitget, a taker entry fee of 0.0300% equals approximately two 8-hour funding payments. On MEXC, where SOXL funding is +0.0000% and maker fees are 0.0000%, holding and entering a position involves zero baseline fee drag.
What is the main difference between maker and taker fees in futures?
Maker fees apply when an order adds liquidity to the order book, such as a post-only limit order. Taker fees apply when an order instantly removes liquidity from the book, such as a market order.
How much do maker vs taker fees futures save on a trade?
On default tiers across major exchanges, limit orders save between 0.0100% and 0.0350% per trade leg compared to market orders. On a 100,000 USD trade, this saves between 10 USD and 35 USD per execution.
Is it cheaper to use maker orders on Bybit or OKX?
Standard maker fees are 0.0200% on both OKX and Bybit. However, Bybit charges a higher taker fee of 0.0550% compared to 0.0500% on OKX, making taker market orders more expensive on Bybit.
How does leverage affect maker and taker fees?
Futures fees are calculated on the total nominal position value, not margin collateral. If 10x leverage is used to open a 100,000 USD position with 10,000 USD margin, the fee is paid on the full 100,000 USD value.